1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to buffet platters, and more particularly to stackable buffet platters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Buffet platters for making up buffet meals are in common use in the catering trade, the known buffet planers consisting of a six or more sided plastic frame, which is assembled from six or more identical individual segments. These individual segments are screwed together, hidden on the inside. A mirror about four millimeters thick is clamped in the frame made up from the individual segments, a groove being cut in the inner side of the individual frame segments, in which groove the mirror is fitted and clamped by the screwing together of the individual segments. The upper and lower edges of these individual segments are so profiled that they prevent sideways slipping when stacking one on the other. These plastics frames have a frame height of about ten centimeters, so that the buffet platters can be stacked even with food served up on the mirror. However this construction has several disadvantages.
Firstly, relative expensive manufacture results from the multi-part design with the individual segments, since the screw connections have to be made separately in the frame, which leads to substantial additional expense, especially with twelve or sixteen sided designs. Moreover round or oval basic shapes of the buffet platter can hardly be produced in this way. Secondly, a relatively small torsional strength results from the screwed construction, so that the clamped-in mirror can easily break with stronger one-sided loading. In addition, the mirror of the glass plate must be made as a food-carrying plate with a relatively large wall thickness, in order to be able to carry the served up food and provide sufficient stiffness even with twisting. However, this makes the buffet platter relatively heavy and thus awkward to handle. Furthermore, a particular disadvantage is that, because of the mirror clamped in the individual segments, juices or marinades can run into the clamping groove from the served up food, so that, for reasons of hygiene, the buffet platter has to be completely disassembled and thoroughly cleaned after practically every serving.